Glamorama

A little bit of Las Vegas came to Minneapolis this month at Marshall Field’s Glamorama—one of the hottest entertainment/fashion shows and after-parties in town. “Mr. Las Vegas” himself, Wayne Newton, hosted this year’s event that raised $275,000 to help fight childhood cancer.
A little bit of Las Vegas came to Minneapolis this month at Marshall Field’s Glamorama—one of the hottest entertainment/fashion shows and after-parties in town. “Mr. Las Vegas” himself, Wayne Newton, hosted this year’s event that raised $275,000 to help fight childhood cancer.

“Before 1950, the five-year survival rate for childhood cancer was only 10 percent, said Mary Holmes, Glamorama 2002 Chair. “Today, cancer is still the leading cause of death by illness among children; however, eight out of ten children diagnosed with cancer can now be successfully treated.”

Newton’s co-host for the evening was 17-year-old Laura Jahnke. Jahnke, with the help of the University of Minnesota and the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, is successfully fighting bone cancer.

“In some ways my cancer has been a good thing. I have met a lot of great people and received a lot of support,” said Jahnke, who discovered she had cancer shortly after her family moved to the Twin Cities from Ohio. “I have hope that it will all work out in the end.” Jahnke, a junior in high school, loves horses and says she should be back riding again within a year.

This year’s Glamorama had an excellent line-up of models, fall fashion and entertainment. Entertainment included songs by Newton, aerial acrobatics by Balagan, and a performance by rock/pop female singer Kina. Kina, who writes all of her own songs, performed “Girl from the Gutter” from her debut album “Kina.” Kina started out with the group Brownstone before going solo. To see more photos of Kina and hear excerpts from her album, go to www.4kina.com.

“We chose Las Vegas as our theme because it’s a city that exudes energy, excitement and electricity, just like this event,” said Linda Ahlers, president of Marshall Field’s. “And though Vegas is best known for its shows and casinos, it has also become a fashion center, with top designer names appearing alongside some of the most famous icons of Las Vegas.”

After the show, guests were invited to an extravagant after-party decorated to match the lush casinos of Vegas. Party-goers could venture out onto the 8th-floor roof for a beautiful view of downtown, eat from the gourmet buffets, hit the dance floor, and visit the Vegas-style wedding chapel.

The event, produced and underwritten by Marshall Fields for the past twelve years, has raised over $2 million for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. The Children’s Cancer Research Fund is dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer by providing funds to the University of Minnesota for the research and training related to the prevention, treatment and cure of childhood cancers, and for quality of life programs for pediatric cancer patients and their families.

For many adult cancers, blacks have higher incidence rates than whites. For children however, black children had lower incidence rates overall, according to 1990-1995 research by the National Cancer Institute. This was especially true for leukemia, where rates for white children were much higher than for black children.

Glamorama is part of Marshall Field’s community giving program, Project Imagine that supports the arts and nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities. A portion of every purchase made at Marshall Field’s go to help support Project Imagine.

For more information about the Children’s Cancer Research Fund and Marshall Field’s Glamorama, please visit www.childrenscancer.org or call 952-893-9355.